I'm not sure why the falls on this Japanese iris look so weird this summer, but it sure is a pretty color!

It has been hot as hell lately. Strangely enough, the roses don't seem to mind. We're starting to figure out which ones are working the best with us, and which ones need to be smacked upside the head a little. ^o^ So far, the new roses that seem the happiest are Griff's Red, Duchesse de Montebello, Winter Sunset, Folk Singer, Polonaise, Cupcake, Jude the Obscure, Iobelle and Konigin von Danemark.

Of our three Austin roses, the fussiest one is supposed to be Evelyn. But believe it or not, it's actually growing, and has a flowerbud! I wish that Scepter'd Isle would pick up the pace. It isn't really doing anything at all. Jude the Obscure is outclassing both of them by far, it was the smallest Austin Chamblee's gave us but now it's the largest. It has the loveliest grass green foliage and three whole flowerbuds! That goes to show you that not all Austin roses are created equal in terms of health and vigor. Go, AUSjo, go!

Griff's Red is already giving us its second flush. Winter Sunset bloomed again, too. Of the Buck roses, I think that Prairie Star is doing the worst. It isn't dying, but it isn't growing at all. It's too bad, because the flowers are really beautiful.

Another struggler is Margo Koster. It looked so great when we got it, but I think it suffered the most from transplant shock. It's been looking a lot better lately, but it's so sparse compared to the other roses.

As for our old roses, Chapeau de Napoleon is shooting out a lot of new growth, but seems to be growing wider instead of taller. I really love that rose. Its second flower was beautiful, and it seems to like us very much.

I wonder if Duchesse de Montebello is supposed to be a crazy invasive Gallica? It looks really great now and has grown faster than any other rose we planted this year.